Charlotte Hodges finds herself in the middle of a love triangle. One of those boys being her red-headed best friend. Then one night she found him waiting up for her after a date and the rest of their story is history in the making.
Again: THIS IS A...
"Charlotte, slow down! You almost ran over someone back there," My mum yelled from behind me as she ran and pulled her bag back on her shoulder after it fell in the chase.
"Sorry Mum!" I called over my shoulder, the momentum and speed of my trolley almost pulling over as I skidded to a halt.
It was finally September, which meant I could finally go to Hogwarts. Unfortunately, my dad had an emergency at work and couldn't come with us to see me off.
I caught my breath as she caught up to me, breathing heavily as she spoke, "It's okay. I know you're excited, but you can't just run away from me."
"You really should have just let me keep going. I'm already this close to the platform. I could have run straight through it."
"And what would you have done if you ran into someone on the other side because you didn't give them enough time to get out of the way?"
"Oh..."Feeling a twinge of guilt, I pushed my lips to the side, "Oh...I didn't think of that."
"You don't think about a lot of things," She teased playfully.
I scoffed and rolled my eyes. There wasn't a day that went by that my mum didn't taunt me, but she never actually meant what she said. Joking around with each other is just how we communicate our love sometimes.
"Besides," She continued with a loving smile, "I'm not going to miss the chance to go through the platform with you."
I smiled back at her before we turned and started walking together to the platform. Once we made it, she put a hand on my back and grinned as she asked, "Ready?"
I nodded vehemently as my excitement started to bubble in the put of my stomach again, "Ready."
She put her free hand on the handle of my trolley, her other still supporting my back to help push me through the platform.
With bated breath, I pushed the trolley forward with my mother. I desperately wanted to keep my eyes open and watch the transition from going through the brick column to the platform, but I was so nervous that they shut instinctively.
Once we reached the other side, I was immediately surrounded by the sound of train whistles and laughter and the smell of smoke and coal. I opened my eyes and instantly became mesmerized by everything around me. There was a huge scarlet train with steam flowing from its engine and a matching sign that read "9 3/4. HOGWARTS EXPRESS" hung overhead from the column.
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Mum smiled down at me, her hand rubbing circles on my upper back, "Incredible, innit?"
"Yeah," I exhaled with amazement. All around me were families saying their goodbyes, friends running and hugging each other as they gleefully reunited, and laughter from kids carrying hooting owls. Some teenagers were even carrying broomsticks while other students and parents were loading trunks into the train.
